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Red-capped Parrots, related to the Rosella's are endemic to the south-western tip of WA. They visit us at HideAway Haven and we see them feeding from our bird feeder. If the feeder is empty they will line up on the railing and stare at us to let us know they want their seed. They are so bright and colourful. We enjoy watching the babies learn to fly from our trees and love experiencing how attentive the mother is during feeding times.

Red-capped Parrots are medium-sized parrots. They have a multi-coloured plumage with a red cap, which gives them their name, yellow cheeks, dark-blue breast and belly, yellow-lined red vent, green mantle and upper-wings and dark-blue flight feathers and under-wings. The upper mandible of the grey bill is conspicuously long. The colours of female Red-capped Parrots are duller than those of males. Juveniles are mostly green, with a brown breast and belly and a red vent. The key feature of the Red-capped Parrot is the extended upper bill. Experienced older birds show great dexterity in nipping off the hard ripe Marri fruit, holding it in one claw, testing it and, if it is of good enough quality, rotating it while inserting the upper bill to extract the fruit.

Red-capped Parrots have a preference for Marri Eucalypt forests and woodlands, but have adapted to the presence of humans by entering farmland, orchards and parks. At HideAway Haven we have a variety of Eucalyptus Trees with gum nuts as a natural source of food for our Red-capped parrots.